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Making a bad situation worse. Obion County, TN wants firefighters to be on the hook if county makes mistake in the ‘pay for spray’ subscription list.

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Click here & scroll down for our previous coverage of the subscription fire service in South Fulton & Obion County

Just when it looked like there was progress in Obion County, Tennessee there appears to be a major step backward, once again making firefighters the responsible party for bad policy. Obion County, as many of you know, does not have its own fire protection but relies on municipal departments that respond into the county to reported fires at the homes of residents who have paid a $75 subscription fee or on all fires where there is a report of someone trapped.

It was one of those municipal departments , South Fulton, that twice made international news when firefighters did not extinguish the burning homes of two non-subscribers in a 13-month period. After really bad publicity from both cases, that even brought death threats to firefighters, South Fulton changed its policy in March (see video below). The firefighters will now respond to all reported fires in the portion of Obion County it handles and bill non-subscribers $3500 for the response. Not a perfect system, but a step in the direction of taking firefighters out of the middle and not putting them in a position of sitting and watching a home burn.

But Obion County, which has long ignored the local fire chiefs and their plea to institute some sort of fire tax, has now made a change in its agreements with the municipal departments. It addresses two points that STATter911.com and our readers brought up when we first told you about this issue in October 2010. Essentially, the latest issue is about the reliability of the information flow. How do you know for sure if someone is trapped or not if you don’t respond and how reliable is the list of subscribers administered by Obion County?

We have asked on numerous occaisions of those who have disagreed with our position which government agency they trust to be 100 percent accurate in its paperwork and data when you have to make a respond or don’t repond decision? Obion County has the solution in its new agreement. They want firefighters to be on the hook if the information is wrong.

WPSD-TV:

Regardless of whether the homeowner paid the fee, firefighters will respond if someone’s trapped inside. The fear is, what if someone’s inside, no one knows and that person dies?

Another common concern is the database of subscribers. What if by mistake someone who paid the fee is left out and firefighters let the home burn?

Folks in Obion county said both scenarios are very real and very scary.

(Town of Obion Chief Jamie) Evans said he’s required to check the computer database before responding to a county fire. While he’s not responsible for putting names in the database, he fears under the new county contract, he would be responsible if someone’s left out.

“I can’t edit it,” Evans said. “I can’t do anything but access and look at it, so I really don’t think it should be my responsibility to take the blame.”

According to WPSD-TV, Obion County officials had told the chiefs that if there is a time more than 70 percent of county residents became fire protection subscribers they would call for a special election to determine if there should be a fire tax. Chief Evans says it has reached that point. No word yet on the election.

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Pay for spray in South Fulton, Tennessee could be changed today. Town is voting on putting out the fire & billing later.

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Click here to follow STATter911.com on Facebook (hit “like”)

Click here & scroll down for our previous coverage of the subscription fire service in South Fulton & Obion County

There is quite an interesting development in South Fulton, Tennessee. South Fulton is the city that became the poster child for “pay for spray” after firefighters refused to extinguish two house fires because the residents across the line in unincorporated Obion County hadn’t paid their annual subscription fee. After the first incident in October 2010, STATter911.com and others who hate to see firefighters put in that no-win situation strongly urged that if you had to have a subscription fire department it was much better to have a policy of putting out the fire and then sending a substantial bill to the homeowner. No matter how negligent a homeowner may be, it’s the firefighters who end looking bad when they show up and do nothing.

FireCritic.com’s Rhett Fleitz insisted that I was on the wrong side of this one and strongly argued that it was okay in this case for firefighters to let a home burn. He wrote that the system operated as it should.

Now word comes from the Wall Street Journal that the leaders of South Fulton are considering a significant change that should avoid the publicity that brought the city and its fire department scorn from around the world. This policy change, expected to be voted on today, sounds very familiar (are you listening Rhett?):

Firefighters in South Fulton, Tenn., have let two homes burn to the ground over the past two years since the city commission started enforcing a rule that the department serve only subscribers who pay the $75 annual fee. The city commission is expected to vote Thursday whether to amend that policy to allow the fire department to put out all blazes and then bill nonsubscribers $3,500 for the service. Paying members wouldn’t be billed. 

South Fulton Mayor David Crocker didn’t respond to requests for comment. The town’s fire chief, David Wilds, when asked how the crew reacted as it watched a home burn down, said: “They didn’t like it.”

Let’s hope that the city commission votes in favor of the change and their firefighters aren’t ever again forced to watch someone lose their property without lifting a hose. And before Rhett starts rewriting history about who wrote what back in 2010, here’s his original column and here’s mine.

The news from South Fulton is part of a report that takes a look at the reasons behind subscription fire services. The article, by Timothy W. Martin, also looks at Bell County, Kentucky where a voluntary subscription service was recently started. It’s worth your time to read the entire article.

Read Wall Street Journal article on subscription fire services

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‘Pay for spray’ update: Tennessee’s South Fulton FD says it was not on scene of controversial fire. Local chief says Kentucky company got close but had no authority to act.

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  Chief Kelly Edmison, on the left, with Union City firefighters.

Coverage of most recent Obion County incident here & here

Previous coverage here, here, here, here, here and here

Chief Kelly Edmison's column from October 8, 2010

Chief Edmison's earlier comments about most recent incident

While the overall issue of a strict "pay for spray" policy is still very much alive in Obion County, Tennessee and an important subject for debate, a local chief now says the widely reported facts about Monday's incident are not accurate. Union City Fire Department Chief Kelly Edmison says the South Fulton Fire Department was never on the scene of the house fire. Edmison tells STATter911.com the woman whose home was burning saw a fire engine from Kentucky which did not have the authority to act.

According to the version of events supplied a short time ago by Chief Edmison, unlike last year's incident, South Fulton firefighters were not on the scene refusing to douse the flames. It is unclear why South Fulton's mayor or fire chief previously did not, or were unable to, make this clear to the local news media.

Still, even in this latest version of events, firefighters did respond to the call and came within two blocks of the burning home. Following the South Fulton policy, firefighters did not attempt to put the fire out. As we posted earlier today, this is something Chief Edmison and other municipal chiefs in Obion County are trying to change. Below, Chief Edmison explains the details, as he knows them, from Monday's incident and provides more background about the battle over the subscription fire service:

South Fulton NEVER made it to the scene of the fire!  I just talked with Chief Wilds moments ago.  The call came in as a city run.  Fulton, KY shares the state line with South Fulton Fire Department.  they have Auto-Aid between the two of them for CITY calls.  The call was dispatched to South Fulton as though it were a city run.  They were told fire on "Cavitt."  Cavitt St. is in the city. Cavitt Lane, is in the county.  SFFD responded to Cavitt St.  Fulton, KY Fire Department caught glimpse of a South Fulton Police car heading towards E. Cavitt.  They in turn followed.  SFFD after getting to Cavitt St, they could see the fire (fully involved) and realized the call was in the county, they also knew those trailers were not covered under the policy.  They radioed Fulton to stand down as it was a county non covered property.  Fulton's truck stopped two blocks short of the actual fire.  It was their truck that was seen by witness's NOT South Fulton.  I also talked with the Fulton Chief.  It bothered them that they couldn't help but them being from out of state and only having authority by South Fulton could not respond after SFFD standing them down. Both departments then returned to quarters.  NO one went on scene regardless what any area news media claimed or even what the local paper reported.

Now, as I have said, I don't like the subscription program.  However Union City has operated this way since the early 60's.  Currently with a 73% participation in our district. It was the hopes of the 8 city fire chiefs (because there "ain't no COUNTY fire department) that the county commission could be convince to go with a fire tax and contract services from the 8 city departments.  They didn't want to pass one and apparently the county residents have choose to remain quiet and not force the issue. The ONLY reason I and the other departments have agreed to go along with the county wide subscription at this time is that it is providing funding for 5 other departments now that have been getting nothing in the past except revenues from their respective cities.  Our hopes are that with a 70% collection county wide the commission would favor a tax.  Politics now comes into play.  We are told that by state law, a county fire tax would place too high of a fee on the farmers.  Obion county is mostly agriculture based.  Many of the county commissioners are farmers.  I'll not say more.

Another note, in fairness to the county, the not responding to non-subscribers is NOT a county policy.  That is left up to each city to make that decision. They are only collecting the money for the individual departments.

Until the county residents rise up and demand a county fire tax, I don't see the problem being solved.  With 70% county wide supporting the subscription program, you would think they would support a tax which reduces that fee.

Bottom line, the cities are not going to provide fire protection to the county for nothing.  We as chiefs have to carry out the policies of our individual governments or we can choose to "go elsewhere."  I currently am committed to protecting the City of Union City taxpayers AND the 73% of the county customers in our district.
As was stated above, all cities pulling back to their city limits would probably force the issue.  But I believe in my case, our "city fathers" aren't quite willing to do that to the 73% who have supported us for so many years.

We'll get through this; we chief's haven't given up.  The fires remain hot; but sometimes the politics burns hotter.

Local chief gives update on Obion County, TN ‘pay for spray’ policy. Union City’s Kelly Edmison says tax is cheaper than subscription,

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          Chief Kelly Edmison, on the left, with Union City firefighters.

NEW INFO – Click here for update from Chief Edmison saying that South Fulton FD was NOT on the scene of Monday's fire, plus new insight into the politics of the subcription program

Coverage of most recent Obion County incident here & here

Previous coverage here, here, here, here, here and here

Chief Kelly Edmison's column from October 8, 2010

You may recall in October, 2010, when the world became familiar with Obion County, Tennessee and learned about something much of the general public was unfamiliar with, subscription fire service, one person spoke up right away on behalf of the firefighters who protect county residents. He is Union City Fire Department Chief Kelly Edmison.

Chief Edmison wrote a column for STATter911.com and made it clear that the firefighters aren't happy with the system either and have been trying to change it. (During last year's incident we pointed out, instead of trying unsuccesfully to chase the TV news crew from the scene, South Fulton FD should have explained this fact from the start so the public fully understood who was responsible for this system.)

Union City FD also protects part of Obion County through a subscription fee and has policies similar to South Fulton. But Chief Edmison indicated last year his department, once on the scene of a burning home, would have had a different outcome.

Even before last year's fire that the South Fulton FD watched burn, the chiefs had submitted a proposal to Obion County officials to implement a fire tax. Instead, the county went in the opposite direction and expanded the subscription service.

In addition, Wednesday night we showed you the story of Randy Evans with the Obion City Fire Department who also is trying to make it clear the firefighters want this system changed. Obion City firefighters, while not involved in the fire on Monday, have been receiving death threats because of mistaken identity, due to the name of the department (click here for that story).

As for Chief Edmison, he sent STATter911.com the following email Wednesday and asked me to share the latest efforts to get firefighters out of the middle and allow them to do what they are supposed to do. Here's Chief Edmison's update:

First off, the call that SFFD received initially was for an in town structure fire.  The particular street has both a “Street” and a “Lane”.  The “Lane” portion ended up being in the county. Not the city limits. 

Where the County is at this time, is that the whole county has implemented a subscription program (July 1, 2011). As you may remember, South Fulton, Kenton and Union City were the only ones with such a program.  The county is now doing the collection of the subscription fees for the departments (with the exception of South Fulton who has decided to continue to collect their own).  Countywide right now we are seeing almost 70% participation. 

The “Chiefs” hope that this figure will encourage the county at some point to pass a county fire tax and be done with this problem.  The current subscription fee is $75 per year.  If it were a tax and 100% compliant that fee/tax would probably be down around $55 or $60.  How often does a politician have the opportunity to pass a tax, when 70% of the populace are in favor of it AND save them $15 or $20 per year? 

Our Chief’s aren’t looking at the subscription program as the “Goal.”  It’s merely a step in what we hope will eventually “fix the problem.”  Meanwhile, our fellow firefighters continue to take a beating for something they truly aren’t in control of.

Kelly E Edmison, Chief
Union City Fire Department

Obion City, TN firefighter speaks out against county ‘pay for spray’. Says name confusion has people making death threats against his department.

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Coverage of most recent Obion County incident here & here

Previous coverage here, here, here, here, here, here and here

Randy Evans has been a volunteer firefighter for 30 years and is a member of the Obion City Fire Department. His department is one that serves Obion County with a subscription fire service but was not involved in Monday's fire that has again put the local fire department's in the news around the world.

Even though it was the South Fulton Fire Department that followed it's town policy of letting property belonging to non-subscribers burn, Obion City FD has been receving hate mail and death threats because of its name. They have been forced to take down the department's Facebook page.

Evans says it is time for Obion County to end pay for spray. Here are excerpts from an article by Jason Hibbs at WPSD-TV:

"We've had everything from "I'm going to shoot every firefighter to we're going to burn station to we're not American," Evans said.

But as nasty as these confused callers can be, deep down, this firefighter shares their concerns, since his own department has the same pay for spray policy.

Evans said in addition to a countywide public relations nightmare, pay for spray makes it tough to recruit new, young firefighters. He fears if something doesn't change, you'll see fewer new firefighters and more empty lockers.

"We plead with the county court to turn our hands loose, work with us, give us the opportunity to serve Obion County," Evans said.

It's just sheer luck that Obion Fire Department has never had to turn down a call. But it could happen someday. We asked Evans what he would do if they got a call from someone who hadn't paid the fee. He said he didn't want to discuss that.

South Fulton, Tennessee’s Fire Department makes news after watching another house burn. ‘Pay for spray’ subscription policy in Obion County brings more heat for firefighters.

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South Fulton Mayor David Crocker makes Keith Olbermann's 'Worst Persons'

Previous coverage here, here, here, here, here, here and here.

Comments in American City & County on last year's incident from Chief Billy Goldfeder

Read why The Fire Critic believes, once again, that firefighters should just sit and watch while property burns

Yes, it's deja vu all over again in Obion County, Tennessee. The same fire company, the same TV station and the same subscription fire service have all come together to make news more than a year after the pay for spray policy made headlines around the world.

Yesterday's fire was at the home of Vicky Bell who called 911. The South Fulton Fire Department responded but WPSD-TV reports they kept their distance and watched the mobile home burn because a $75 subscription fee had not been paid.

South Fulton provides fire service to its residents but charges a fee for homeowners living in adjacent unincorporated areas of Obion County. Obion County does not have its own fire department and there is no fire tax. Local fire chiefs in the past have lobbied the county to get them out of the middle, so they aren't put in a position to watch someone's property burn. 

In October 2010, WPSD-TV was on the scene with firefighters as Gene Cranick's home burned. The firefighters refused to put water on the home but sprayed a subscribing neighbor's residence nearby. The story was extensively discussed on cable TV by Keith Olbermann and Glenn Beck.

Here are excerpts from yesterday's story by WPSD-TV's Jason Hibbs:

The mayor said it comes down to simple business. If they don't collect fire fees, the fire department can't survive and if they make exceptions to the rule, no one will ever pay the fee.

Besides that, he likes the "pay for spray" policy and said it's fair.

"In an emergency, the first thing you think of, 'Call 9-1-1," homeowner Vicky Bell said.

"There's no way to go to every fire and keep up the manpower, the equipment, and just the funding for the fire department," Mayor David Crocker said.

And Crocker said by now, everyone should know about the city's fire policy.

"After the last situation, I would hope that everybody would be well aware of the rural fire fees, this time," Crocker said.

Bell and her boyfriend admitted they were aware but thought this would never happen to them.

UPDATE: Obion County, TN officials vote to expand subscription fire service after South Fulton controversy. Public vote on fire tax in 2012. Union City Chief Kelly Edmison reacts in a guest column.

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Previous coverage of this story from STATter911.com

A vote today by Obion County officials has brought the county wide expansion of a subscription fire service. This, of course, is the same county that made big news after the South Fulton Fire Department refused to extinguish a blaze at the home of a non-subscriber. 

Union City Fire Department Chief Kelly Edmison, on the left, from the department website.

We have been keeping in touch with one of the fire chiefs whose municipal department also has supplied subscription fire protection for a part of Obion County. Union City Fire Department Chief Kelly Edmison has, with the other municipal chiefs, been working for some time to get Obion County to implement a fire tax and do away with the subscription service. In this guest column, Chief Edmison gives us his reaction to today’s developments:  

The Obion County Court today (10/18/2010) voted 15 to 3 (21 members; 3 not present) in favor of implementing county wide subscriptions. Basically the county will collect the fees at the court house and distribute them to the 8 municipalities. There is definitely mixed emotions among the fire chiefs. Though this may be a step forward in getting needed funds into the hands of the departments; it is still far from the goal of having a fire tax or fire fee to provide 100% coverage for all county residents.  

Commissioners also voted 17 to 1 in favor of an amendment that this issue of a fire tax/fee will be placed as a referendum on the ballot at the next general election in 2012.  

It has been stated that the county could petition the state for a “public act” which would allow Obion County to set up, their own fee structure; independent from the TN fire tax code. This could be done, and needs to be investigated and followed through. This could be done much prior to 2012. In the mean time, the subscription service program would begin July 1, 2011. It is my guess that the remaining 5 departments who presently do not have a subscription service will more than likely implement a policy to go on everything and bill a member and non-member rate. I think it also fair to surmise that Kenton, Union City and South Fulton will continue with the current policy of responding only to covered structures. A two level rate structure will cover everyone, but in my opinion, it will hurt the over all process of producing optimal funds.  

The saddest point I want to make is that you would have hoped that the court house would have been packed. It wasn’t. There were only three county residents in attendance that spoke up. (One being, a member of the Cranick family.) The remainder of the crowd consisted of news media and firefighters.  

My opinion still stands; that it is hard to protest a city policy that protects its city tax payers; when the residents of the county do not seem to care enough to show up and voice their concerns. Then again, with over 70% of the people in our rural coverage area supporting our subscription program, maybe they are voicing their opinions.  

Again, I do not like the subscription program. It doesn’t let firefighters be firefighters. But it has been, and will continue to be, the policy that our department is forced to follow until the city changes its policy; until the county court implements a fire tax/fee or until the county residents care enough about fire protection and demand that something different be done.  

What took place in South Fulton’s rural area, more than likely will happen again. “Government” has always reacted in a “knee jerk” fashion, and sadly, too many times after the event. And as we all know, when it happens to the “right person’ something positive will take place. I can assure you, the Obion County fire chiefs aren’t through ‘fighting.”  

A better (but not good) answer to the Tennessee pay to spray fiasco. Plus, Dave becomes a critic of The Fire Critic.

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The Fire Critic responds and misses the point

I am sure most of you  have been following the latest incident of a Tennessee fire department letting a home burn because the homeowner didn’t pay the annual subscription fee. In this case in South Fulton an unpaid $75 bill resulted in the fire department watching a house burn to the ground. There has been a lot of reaction to this story, including the following: News coverage across the country (just heard the story again on CBS Radio); A live shot with the homeowner on Keith Olbermann’s Countdown on MSNBC with references to life under the Tea Party (see below); Glenn Beck supports the FD position; The son of the homeowner decking the fire chief (see story above); A harsh statement from IAFF General President Harold Schaitberger; The Fire Critic Rhett Fleitz taking the side of the fire department saying the rules are the rules (please check my critique of The Fire Critic further down).

As a volunteer firefighter in Maryland in the 70s I recall being quite outraged reading the stories, usually from the South, of firefighters watching homes burn because someone wasn’t on the department’s subscription or membership list. I don’t think my outrage is any less more than 35-years-later.

The chiefs who run these subscription based entities, including Union City Fire Chief Kelly Edmison whose department is in Obion County, Tennessee with South Fulton, make the case that they are between a rock and a hard place. Here is what Chief Edmison said to WPSD-TV:

“If somebody is trapped in the house we’re going to go because life safety is number one but we can’t give the service away,” Edmison said. “It’s not South Fulton’s problem. It’s not Union City’s problem. It’s the county’s problem. There is no county fire department.”

“If we just waited to charge when we went out there, you’d be working on a per-call basis,” he said.  “With no more calls than there are, the money wouldn’t be there in a sufficient source to buy the equipment you need.”

He and other fire chiefs in Obion County who charge subscription fees for county residents know they’re in a tough spot.

“It’s like car insurance,” Edmison said. “I wish I could wait until I have an accident until I pay my premium on my car insurance, but it doesn’t work that way. So why should the fire service be looked at anything different?” 

The self dubbed Fire Critic, Rhett Fleitz, has no sympathy for the homeowner who didn’t pay his bill and he also thinks the fire department is wrongly the fall guy in this one.

This situation is a black eye for the fire service. The fault lies with the homeowners for not paying the $75 fee. However, the public will not view it as such. The media is also jumping on the band wagon…saying that the homeowner is the victim. The only thing that failed here was the homeowner not paying the fee. Everything else operated as it should.

So many people are pointing the finger towards the fire department. Once again, they fail to look at policies. This is bigger than the fire department. If someone wants to change the policies they need to look to the South Fulton City Government.

I don’t know if it’s just a poor choice of words or my good friend Rhett has finally snapped after taking years of abuse about being short. Rhett has me really worried about him when he writes, ”Everything else operated as it should”. Huh?

I am starting to think that carpool I wrote about with Connie Xinos of Oak Brook, Illinois and the two council knuckleheads from Xenia, Ohio who want the firefighters to buy their own gear can now go in the HOV-4 lanes. Connie, give me a call for directions. Rhett will be standing at the curb waiting for you. Thank goodness IronFiremen.com is now aboard FireEMSBlogs.com so we can get something sensible from Roanoke. (BTW Rhett is so threatened about the blog by Willie Wines he put some frontal nudity on The Fire Critic today. I think we know who the real boob is. Desperate people do desperate things.)

Now back to our story. No, Rhett. Everything did not operate as it should. Firefighters put out fires and help people. They should not be put in the position where they can’t do that. And maybe it’s not the South Fulton Government that is necessarily the problem. Maybe Obion County should provide for its people by subsidizing the volunteer fire departments.

If that can’t be done, maybe a better answer to this problem comes from a Tennessee fire company with a similar issue. In the story below, after running into fundraising issues, the Karns VFD, five hours or so to the east of South Fulton, is going to a subscription type department. But it sounds like they are not refusing to respond to anyone’s emergency. They will bill those who aren’t members a pretty substantial fee for putting out a fire. 

Far from perfect and still objectionable. But at least this way it won’t bring about video on national television of firefighters looking like they are at a marshmellow roast while someone loses all of their belongings. Let the bill collectors, accountants and courts do what they are supposed to do while firefighters do their jobs. (And Rhett, go do your job, admit you were wrong and apologize to your co-worker Willie for trying to steal his thunder on his opening week.)